Local drug rehab clinics must have strong security measures, constant monitoring and search procedures, and a well-trained staff to keep Fentanyl from getting into the hands of patients. Monitoring must, unfortunately, include the activities of doctors, nurses, counselors, and other staff members.
When these precautions aren’t established and followed, substance use disorder centers can be legally liable for the damages caused. A lapse can allow harmful drugs into a sterile environment and cause relapses and scary overdoses for patients. Victims and their families might need help with the cost of medical care needed for overdose victims, and support for families if they tragically lose a loved one to an overdose in a clinic.
If your family member overdosed on fentanyl while in the care of a Bakersfield rehabilitation facility, speaking with an experienced Bakersfield Rehab Facility Overdose Lawyer as soon as possible can benefit your case. This discussion will help your family understand their legal options and ensure critical evidence is preserved before it disappears.
Negligence and Fentanyl Exposure at a Drug Rehab Facility
One of the most effective tools for helping victims beat addiction is, of course, the complete absence of the drugs they struggle with. Without access to a dangerous substance like fentanyl, patients don’t have to rely on willpower to avoid exposure, at least until they are stronger.
It’s a sad fact that substances like Fentanyl often make their way into rehab clinics despite security measures.
Clinic owners and operators promise to keep drugs out of the hands of patients. They do this to earn a family’s trust and money. It’s a difficult task, but it’s one that’s critical to the wellbeing of patients.
These are a few of the measures every Kern County drug rehabilitation facility should take to keep those recovering from addiction safe:
- Strong intake procedures and examination when the patient first arrives. This can mean body cavity checks, searching luggage and possessions, and confiscating cellphones.
- Monitoring rooms and patient activity 24/7. Room searches. Review any mail received. Checking cellphone call and text activity.
- Maintaining a secure perimeter on facility property. Making sure no one with drugs could enter the premises without detection. Making sure outsiders can leave drugs in nooks and crannies, or reach through a fence to hand drugs off.
- Monitoring guests. Making sure visitors to the facility have no way to pass off fentanyl powder or pills.
- Monitoring other patients. Making sure a patient can’t receive drugs from other residents.
- Monitoring staff. There are headlines each year about rehab clinic workers providing illegal drugs to patients. Even nurses have been arrested for providing these dangerous substances to patients. Surveillance must extend to staff/patient interactions and time in locked medication rooms.
The Rights of Families After a Loved One Overdoses at a Bakersfield Rehab Center
Rehab facilities can be held liable when these and other security measures aren’t taken. Victims and their families have the right to demand support after exposure and a harmful overdose. They have the right to file a claim themselves, but this can put them up against a chain of drug rehab clinics, corporate lawyers, and unhelpful liability insurance providers.
A skilled Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyer can help families take up this difficult and frustrating fight. We can make a big difference in the quantity and quality of the evidence obtained from an already defensive organization or business. We can file complicated paperwork and make sneaky deadlines on behalf of victims. We do this while allowing victims and their families the time they need to focus on recovery and building a better life away from a negligent rehab facility.
Contact a Bakersfield Rehab Facility Overdose Attorney
Allowing patients to get their hands on Fentanyl and other drugs is just one of the ways a facility can fail its duty to its patients. When mistakes are made, drug rehab clinics should be fully responsible for the consequences.
To find out how to hold them accountable, families can schedule a free case consultation with a real Bakersfield law firm. We offer this confidential meeting with no obligation to you. A skilled lawyer can often help your family force a drug rehab facility to accept blame for an injury or a fatal incident at a clinic. We also have a good chance to earn the family much more than they could by filing a claim themselves.
And we want to make this clear: any family can afford the protection of a great lawyer. We don’t charge anything up front and don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. If we do win the case for your family, our attorney’s fee comes from the settlement check the drug facility’s insurer must write for you.